Just before Paul Lambert could start yard work before a December snowstorm, a surprise visitor arrived for a snack.
A large group, or earful, of cedar waxwings settled on Lambert’s crabapple trees and winterberry bushes, a departure from the usual American robins who feast on the fruits. Despite the clock ticking toward the oncoming snow, the rare sight inspired the nature photographer to swap his rake for his camera, a tripod and stepstool.
“When something like that happens, you stop and you take in the moment, because once it passes, it’s gone,” Lambert said.
For two hours, Lambert captured the birds tossing the berry up in the air, and slurping the red ball down their throats, using their forked tongues to slip under the berries. He ended his session with more than 2,400 photos.
Twelve other photographers gasped and giggled at just six of these images Lambert captured at the Dec. 15 meeting of the Quabbin Photo Group, a nature-focused photography club for all skill levels, centered around the Quabbin Watershed. As the film was projected onto the screen in a side room of the Belchertown Recreation Department, the group took a moment to appreciate the feathered friends on film before offering some critique on ways to tone down the saturation levels of the bright red berries.
The Quabbin Photo Group offers photographers like Lambert a place to share his work, further refine his skills and appreciate the wonders of their whimsical subjects. Started in 1984 by renowned photographer and conservationist Les Campbell, the Quabbin Photo Group was one of the few photography clubs at the time that forwent competition in lieu of education.
“In those days, the clubs were about competitions, but he (Campbell) didn’t care about winning,” said David Campbell, Les’s son. “He was out to show others how to be a better photographer. He wanted it to be about the joy of photography.”
Five years after Campbell’s passing, the Quabbin Photo Group continues to carry on the club’s original mission. Outside of their monthly meetings swapping tips and techniques, members take their photography and nature education to the public through workshops and guest speakers. They hope to inspire more people to pick up a camera — or just their smartphone — and get out into nature.
“Everyone has a smartphone, everyone has a camera in their pocket,” Program Chairman and Belchertown resident Ed Comeau said. “Important for us as a group to identify where we can help people become better photographers the most effectively.”
A medium for appreciation
There are many photography clubs in the Valley with different focuses, several of which were started by Campbell. The Quabbin Photo Group, however, zooms in on Campbell’s passion for nature. Photography was the medium Campbell used to communicate the beauty of birds, nature and the Quabbin Reservoir, David said.
Many of the 40 members share the same appreciation for the natural world. Member Deb Guiel from South Hadley began birding long before she picked up a camera a decade ago, but eventually combined her two hobbies. Website Manager Wendy Queiros from Belchertown enjoys “the hunt” for an animal to photograph. She has trekked more than 300 miles in the woods, all for one perfect frame.
“Having a camera in my hand gives me a purpose to being out there,’ Comeau said. “Certainly you can go for a hike, and be in nature, but having a camera in my hand adds to that experience.”
To capture this shot of the moon over the Quabbin Tower, Mark Lindhult tracked the path of the moon and calculated the angle of his camera to align the two shapes. Photo taken by Mark Lindhult. 
Ed Comeau took a trip to Alaska in spring, where hundreds of grizzly bears come to catch running salmon in Spring. Photo taken by Ed Comeau. 
An otter rolls around in the sand at a beach along the Quabbin Resevoir. Contributed by Wendy Queiros 
Debbie Guiel first found herself drawn to abstract nature photography thourgh photos of ice like this formation along Swift River. Photo taken by Debbie Guiel. 
A bald eagle swoops down to fish in the Quabbin Resevoir. Photo taken by Mark Lindhult 
A bird cleans the face of a deer in the Belchertown woods. Photo taken by Wendy Queiros 
A green heron caught a frog at Lake Wallace in Belchertown. Photo taken by Debbie Guiel. 
Fog rolls over a sunrise on Swift River. Photo taken by Ed Comeau. 
Great Egret Takeoff at Sunrise. This was taken in Stone Harbor, NJ at the Wetlands Institute. The egret is backlit so that the sun is shining through its wings and revealing its body. Photo by Mark Lindhult. 
Otter pops his head out of the water in Belchertown. Photo taken by Paul Lambert.
Like a conservationist, farmer or hunter, nature photographers often document the changing natural phenomena in their regular photography spots. Comeau took a photo of an otter living in an abandoned beaver dam in the Quabbin, a common behavior of the animal. In 2023, President of the Quabbin Photo Group Mark Lindhult from Belchertown captured a photo of a full moon behind the Quabbin Tower, only to discover the wildfires had turned the moon a bright orange.
Queiros spent more than a year following a barred owl in Pepperell after discovering the bird’s hunting grounds. When she learned the owl had drowned after getting tangled in fishing line, her heart broke.
“When a photographer finds an owl, you deem that as your owl,” Queiros said.
Learning from each other
Photography is the chosen retirement hobby for many members. Lindhult began taking photos as a way to enhance his family vacations after his 35-year career in design and architecture. A decade ago, he captured a nesting osprey while enjoying a New Jersey beach day with his wife. That photo, he said, “sealed the deal” for him.
“It’s inspiring to just see work of other people and other about how others got a particular shot, or different types and styles of photography,” Lindhult said.
At the Dec. 15 meeting, each member submitted six different photographs with unique styles and technique. David Seth Ross from Amherst showed photos of waterfalls taken with infrared lens, which does not capture color. This technique gave summer shots of flowing water a frozen-like look. Ray Hubbe from Pelham played with this Sony 100 2.8 macro lens, which is specific for close-up photos, capture the unique fern-like shapes of ice on his Subaru windshield. Guiel pulled photos from her archive of ice shots, each focusing on a different shape in the winter landscape.
““A lot of times we’ll go out and photograph on our own. When you’re in the zone, you don’t want to be talking with people, you want to be focused on looking for your subjects,” Guiel said. “When you’re here, that’s where we can really learn from each other.”
Members of the Quabbin Photo Group have begun to take this education outside of their members meetings. In November, the group invited Jillian Whitney, a wildlife biologist for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, to speak on her role in monitoring different species at the Quabbin. Whitney not only enlightened the group on animal behaviors, but also identified what animals are active each season.
As part of the 2025 Clapp Memorial Library and Creative Economy Committee’s ViewFinder Belchertown Nature Photography Competition, Lindhult and Comeau lead workshops in spring on lighting, depth-of-field, composition and other photography basics. They then recruited Linda Repskay, an award-winning photographer, to teach a workshop with her cameras of choice: smartphones.
But the best way to learn photography, Comeau said, is not by listening, but by doing.
“Just go out and shoot and shoot and shoot. That’s how you get better is by taking photographs,” he said. “But shoot with intent. Then go look at them, throw away the garbage and learn from those too.”
For those who wish to take their best photos to the Quabbin Photo Group, their next meeting takes place on Monday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. at the Belchertown Recreation Department.